Imbolc

 

"the days are longer, the first snowdrops are out, and Imbolc is nearly upon us"

I find February the hardest month of the year, starting with short days frequently wet and cold, it may be the shortest month but it feels uncompromising in its harshness. However according to the Celtic Calendar spring is already here! About midway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox is Imbloc. The term is from the Irish language and translates as 'in the belly' interpreted as a time when signs of life begin to appear and the dead February landscape starts to sprout green shoots bulbs being the first, in the churchyard among the dead leaves of Autumn and spent stems of last years plants the empty husks of seed heads still intact clumps of Snowdrops add a bright splash, elsewhere under the bare tree canopy amongst the ivy Dwarf Daffodils have colonised from a few pots planted a couple of years after they had finished flowering.

All encouraging signs and with the evenings getting lighter as well.